Friday Night Lights

Okay, there is a chance that you have already seen the "Friday Night Lights" series finale on DirecTV. There's also a chance that you bought the DVD copy and saw the finale that way. But, let's admit it, you still want to watch the finale tonight on NBC. This is it, the last 'new' episode of "Friday Night Lights" that will be airing on network television, the ending of the tale of the Coach, his family, and his team. The series has been full of great performances and tonight's episode should be one of the best.

Past Events

If you happen to be one of the minority of individuals who have DirecTV, you already know how the entire season of "Friday Night Lights" plays out. If you're not one of those people (and have not opted to buy the final season of the show on DVD), for you, the final season of the show begins this very evening. There's a whole lot that's still unresolved on the show, and while we don't particularly feel like this is the sort of series that is going to put a neat little bow on stuff, we do want to know what happens and are quite convinced that you do too.

Yes, it's true that most folks don't have DirecTV, but if you do, you need to be aware that "Friday Night Lights" is having its series finale tonight. The entire fifth season will air this spring/summer on NBC, but tonight is your first chance to see how it all ends. It is, sadly, time to bid farewell to Coach Taylor, Tami, and all the other beautifully written and brilliantly acted characters from Dillon, Texas that we've come to know and love.

Those out there with DirecTV know exactly what happens on tonight's season finale, at least they do if they watched the episode when it aired on DirecTV's subscriber-only channel. The rest of us have been eagerly anticipating the finale, dying to know what happens with the East Dillon Lions, Coach Taylor, and the rest of the gang. It has been more than a little bit of a bumpy ride for the team, but Taylor has pulled through like the champion that he is. We even forgive him forfeiting that first game with the Lions - it really wasn't his fault at all.

If you don't have DirecTV this is your first chance to see season four of "Friday Night Lights." As you may recall, when we last left Dillon, our beloved Coach Taylor had been shunted over to East Dillon, where he would take control of the newly reopened school's football team. The man has a long road ahead of him, and we're dying to know whether he can succeed there and whether regular Dillon can succeed without him. Also, we kind of want to see that Dillon quarterback and his family to get a comeuppance. They have one coming.

The fourth "FNL" episode of the NBC season, titled "Hello, Goodbye" is probably the year's standout.

Get ready to use your hankies, as Gaius Charles' Smash reaches a pivotal crossroads in his life.

Seriously, "FNL" may have had an up-and-down season, but this episode is as good as anything the show has done since it's first season. Emmy voters won't pay attention, but they really ought to watch Charles and Kyle Chandler's work in this episode.

Two days before the third season of "Friday Night Lights" premieres on NBC, the Texas football drama concludes its season on DirecTV. We'll see if this experiment is one that DirecTV and the TV networks want to repeat in the future, but at least it gave fans another 13 episodes of Dillon Panthers football.